Apollo Command Module Panel

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi

ƒ/4

27 mm

1/60

400

A supremely rare item, this is a fully intact instrument panel from the early Apollo 1 Command Module design (specifically MDC-18 from the Block 1 spacecraft series).

The panel was released by North American Aviation after the pad fire accident that claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in 1967 and precipitated a further redesign of many wiring elements for safety.

With a 400Hz 120V AC supply, I may be able to energize it… =)

The various warning signals, such as Bus A and Bus B undervolt, and the various Fuel Cell indicators for the H2 and O2 tanks reminded me of the Apollo 13 drama. “Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a main B bus undervolt.”

These readings and controls would have been the area of intense interest to the crew as they tried to understand what had happened (the number 2 oxygen tank in the service module had exploded).

Backside view below. The overlay notes above come from the Apollo Operations Handbook, Controls and Displays SM2A-03-SC012, Nov. 12, 1966.

18 responses to “Apollo Command Module Panel”

jurvetson

Jan 25, 2011 at 4:01 am

Backside…. the nest of discrete wires….

Panel location (MDC-18 appears to be the largest panel in the array):

Reply
: Nils

Jan 25, 2011 at 4:04 am

Very cool. Can you stir the O2 tanks please? 😉

Reply
BWJones

Jan 25, 2011 at 4:12 am

DUDE! Supremely rare and most excellently awesome. Congratulations.

Reply
Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD)

Jan 25, 2011 at 10:41 am

I remember the day of the fire very well. One of those few but very sad days in the history of space exploration.

Reply
The Rocketeer

Jan 25, 2011 at 12:38 pm

I wonder what the reasoning was for using a 400hz 120v power supply? Perhaps the transformers were smaller, produced less EMI and operated more efficiently than 60hz transformers.
Soon you’ll be able to assemble your own Command Module at this rate, Steve! Very cool!

Reply
Spaceaholic.com

Jan 25, 2011 at 1:39 pm

Rocketeer – 400hz 115v was selected to keep the weight/size down and improve reliability (the fuel cells outputted 27-31 volts DC which had to be converted to AC via solid state inverters – each inverter functioned in effect as a compact load center for the spacecraft with a design requirement to individually sustain all the flight vehicle systems if the other two failed. In addition 400hz provided more stable power – most airframes also fly with 400hz systems).

Kyr.Chan – panel illumination in both the Apollo Command Module (as well as the LM) was via the erie blue-green glow of (advanced for its time) electroluminescent pads.

Reply
pianoman4Jesus

Jan 25, 2011 at 2:04 pm

Clicking the backside photo for me brings up a message that the photo is private. I can click the front side photo to see the larger version. Same error with the location diagram.

Reply
Astrocatou

Jan 25, 2011 at 2:19 pm

Cool…
Where are you (slowly) assembling the vehicle ?

Reply
jurvetson

Jan 25, 2011 at 4:20 pm

a subtle effort is underway at work…. one of my partners is welding some rigging…

pianoman: yes, sorry, those photos are private so they can interleave here. I should probably remove the links and just have the embedded photos.

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/34476140@N07]: another NASA spinoff… very "cool" (and these civilian versions are clickable =)

.

Reply
jimheid

Jan 25, 2011 at 7:40 pm

*swoon*

Reply
solerena

Jan 25, 2011 at 9:30 pm

found this on wiki: "Further problems included episodes of high oxygen flow apparently linked to movements by the astronauts in their flightsuits. There were also faulty communications between the crew, the control room, the operations and checkout building and the complex 34 blockhouse. "How are we going to get to the Moon if we can’t talk between three buildings?" Grissom complained in frustration over the communication loop. This put the launch simulation on hold again at 5:40. Most countdown functions had been successfully completed by 6:20 but the countdown was still holding at T minus 10 minutes at 6:30 with all cables and umbilicals still attached to the command module while attempts were made to fix the communication problem." the most common problem… and 1967 is the year, interesting… not much changed…

and love the aquamarine color in the pictures above…

Reply
Happy Tinfoil Cat

Jan 26, 2011 at 12:12 am

There is a Johnny Cash song about building a Cadillac this reminds me of.

Reply
ideastoday

Jan 26, 2011 at 4:38 am

Steve, this may be your best find yet. I could lie on my back and flip those switches all day!

Reply
JeffSech

Jan 27, 2011 at 5:47 am

Very cool, Steve. And thanks for getting the quote right.

I think Dave is onto something–I’m thinking of the old G.I. joke about sending a jeep home piece by piece.

Reply
Astrocatou

Jan 27, 2011 at 11:05 am

Yes…I want to see that Dragon capsule again…

Reply
Jim Rees

Feb 1, 2011 at 5:07 am

You really need to at least get the backlight working. Post a photo when you do.

When I worked at Boeing I discovered another advantage to 400Hz besides the obvious weight savings. Being quite audible, you could tell right away when something went wrong.

Reply
TomiTapio

Feb 1, 2011 at 7:44 pm

It’s well nice.

Reply
jurvetson

Mar 14, 2012 at 5:42 pm

Astronaut Ed Lu visited recently, and when he saw his panel, he immediately recognized the bottom left DC INDICATORS dial: "It’s the same switch on the Shuttle!" They just keep reusing functionality, often with remnant switch positions that only made sense for Apollo.

Reply

Apollo Command Module Panel

18 responses to “Apollo Command Module Panel”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply